The US National Qualifier Program is a significant improvement for most US players, however Northern California players are significantly impacted. Sunmesa Events want to take some of the sting out of that transition.
The new US Nationals Qualifier is bringing the ability to earn slots closer to almost all players in the United States – except players in Northern California. Sunmesa Events want to reward our Northern California players with some benefits to help ease the adjustments.
Jody Godard of Sunmesa Events said:
“Our events in So Cal have welcomed all players and Northern California players have made full use of that opportunity. The list is long and impressive; from LSV winning GP LA, to David Ochoa and Kenny Ellis earning PT invites. It seemed very appropriate to do something special for our Nor Cal players. So today we are announcing three benefits specifically for Nor Cal attendees to The California National Qualifier:
Drive, Save, Play gives Nor Cal players who have played in our events before free entry and free parking if they bring 3 other players to the National Qualifier.
$10 Side Events for all Nor Cal players: Just show us your ID and you get $5 off our normal price for drafts and 8-player-for-a-box.
Free Box of Rise of Eldrazi – We will be giving away one booster box of Rise of the Eldrazi randomly to all players in the California National Qualifier PLUS an additional box just to folks who took the trip from Northern California.
We appreciate all our players very much and take no one for granted, however now seemed the right time to provide our Nor Cal attendees just a little extra TLC. We hope you can take advantage of these promotions.”
See www.sunmesaevents.com for complete details or call (505) 720-8249
Holy crap i wished i lived in Northern Cali! Its not really a ‘free’ box considering the price per gallon on gas, but I’ve driven over 8 hours before to big MTG tourneys with no sick offer like this!! I’m wicked jealous Sonoma!!
That last part is worded weird. All players are entered into a drawing for a box. There is then a second drawing just for Northern California players. That’s how it should read. Not all players just get a box for showing up.
If only people that had their regional drive reduced from ten hours to eight had a video blog. They could get rewarded for complaining too…
@ Rich:
I don’t think you really get it…
Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve driven to the LA area for two Grand Prix tournaments and a States before and it is just not worth it to me to take a day off of work to drive out on Friday, spend Friday night and Saturday night in a hotel, and drive back on Sunday to play in Regionals.
And no, I am not willing to drive all night, play a 10-round tournament on 3 hours sleep, and sleep in my car Sat night. To those of you that do that for your tournament, bravo. But for me, that is not my idea of a good time, nor is it a formula for having a successful tournament.
The gesture is appreciated, and I’m sure there will be some NorCal players that will make the drive and be happy to win some extra product and/or save a few bucks. But the whole situation is unacceptable in its current state, and the fact that this could have been so easily remedied by leaving the situation as-is for California just angers me. WotC just needs to give us our tournament back.
This deal seems Hella enticing.
That’s obviously an awesome promotion, but there are still 400+ players who wont be playing in a Regionals/nationals qualifier due to this change.
It’s a real shame because last year drew 200+ people in both Sacto and Santa Clara.
I’m with Jon Lewis on this one. Thanks but not thanks. The gesture is much appreciated but it’s still the matter of time and distance. I live in the Santa Rosa area, Lake County to be more specific. The drive would be 9+ hours there and back.
Cute, but I’d be amazed if anyone actually changed their mind about this. Wow, some travel costs on the trip. Doesn’t make the trip any shorter or the fact that your max payout is Q’ing for a tournament in Minnesota with no plane ticket.
Hella. Inticing.
Hell.
A.
Well, it’s a little bit of incentive for the people who were on the fence. This offer just makes it hurt more to the people who can’t spare the time it takes to make it there. Their mathematician is probably spot on though- the media buy and their suggested additional prize support will be less than the amount they will make off of the 40 or more people who will cash in on the offer who otherwise wouldn’t. It does feel good to know that our SoCal Bretheren are aware of our plight. Dogers suck. <3
So this is suppost to get me to drive or fly to la, spend more money on a place to play then drive back or fly back AND miss work for extra days when it could have and should have been in santa clara? Wizards dropped the ball on this one and I am pretty sure they forgot how big california is and they clearly thinking everyone wants to make 8 plus hour drives.and why la? Socals full of douches
RE: willieG
Why should it be in NorCal? Population is larger in SoCal anyway, with more surrounding communities than in the Bay. (7 million in Bay Area, 17 million in LA area). Get over your hella cool attitude and realize that years ago Regionals were played in both regions, then shifted to one each in alternating years.
Cool promo, I wonder if the NorCal organizers will offer similar incentives for SoCal players. Oh wait. They don’t.
@ zack smith
EVERYBODY IS FULL OF DOUCHES. SO MANY DOUCHES!
also ur mom. 😀
Nice marketing on their part. If they get enough people to go south then wizards won’t have to split California into two different regions. Maybe this will be reason we finally split the state in two. It’s not fair that we only get 2 Senators.
@Eric: Completely fair that we only get two senators, the senate isn’t based on population. We have by far the most votes in the house and electoral college though, so no need to complain about fairness.
@Eric: Completely fair that we only get two senators, the senate isn’t based on population. We have by far the most votes in the house and electoral college though, so no need to complain about fairness.
So the drive from me from San Jose to the event and back, assuming no traffic/extra stops/car troubles is 692mi, which assuming 25mpg means the cost for me to go will be $83.04 + $30 entry, so $113.04. And that doesn’t even include wear/tear on my car, which will be significant.
This is completely unacceptable for Wizards to expect anyone to dish out that kind of money just to attend an event. I mean, paying about $700 for a standard deck which you can use for a few months of tournaments is one thing, but having to pay this much just to attend a tournament?
The gesture from Sun Mesa is appreciated, but what really needs to happen is Wizards needs to either add another event in NorCal OR JUST MOVE THE EVENT TO NORCAL. It is a much more central location here anyway, and I am pretty sure there would be much higher attendance at a San Jose or Oakland or somewhere event than anywhere else in CA.
The only thing that would make me attend this tournament would be somebody reimbursing me for the $100 I waste attending a LOCAL event.
Really, Norcal is more central? You must be geographically impaired or something.
@Koby:
Regionals have always been played in both Northern and Southern California. It was States/Provincials that alternated between the two, which was annoying and prompted me to skip the tournament several times.
I don’t think anyone in Northern California wants Regionals to NOT be played in SoCal. That would not solve the problem. We want it in both regions. It’s not fair when the nearest Regional tournament is 400+ miles away of most Northern Californians when there are 10 in a 575 mile stretch along the Eastern Seaboard (Salem, NH; Boston, MA;Pawtucket, RI;Hartford, CT;NYC, NY;Iselin, NJ;Philly, PA;Newarl, DE; Richmond, MD). It doesn’t take a geography degree to see that this is idea was not thought all the way through and that it’s not right. WotC needs to step up and fix it.
The only benefit to having this down in So-Cal is that the field is going to be F*ing soft. Winning PTQs or any tournaments up in the Bay are much more difficult than they are in So-Cal and this is a known fact.
And you can keep “the Hills”, Sperling, cuz we could care less about shallow ass women who are 100% plastic both inside and out. How’s that smog and traffic workin out for ya, buddy?
That bs aside, props to Sun Mesa for trying to do SOMETHING to make this easier for us..
692 miles is “significant wear and tear” on a car? really (unless its an old beat up car)?
you all really need to live a little bit east, where you really had no choice to drive 600-800 miles to go to an event because our states are too small.
and typical driving distances are much greater than that.. my parents probably drive close to 1000 miles a week combined, which will probably suck when gas likely hits 4-5 dollars a gallon.. luckily gas here is one of the cheaper places in the country. (2.69 atm)
either way, it is still rather lame, yes, and im sure wizards will do better next time. I guess your 700 miles is worse than mine, because theres almost no traffic at all until you hit fort collins, co.
While I would like to agree with everyone who has posted, it is just a little ridiculous that the most populous tournament series over the years is just removed from a market that used to be large enough to hold 2 events. Over the past few years, Regionals in Northern California was split, and more invitations were offered based on attendance. This offer (to my knowledge) was not guaranteed anywhere else in the country. It was possible, if 200 more people had shown up between the 2 events, that 16 slots would have been given out. As it was, 8 were given out. A lot of east coast states do not come close to the population of Northern California, and yet they are given a tournament. Why would we not be given one? Also, why hold an event in Las Vegas which is a short drive from LA, when you could easily hold the event in Reno, which would prompt California residents to actually attend based on a 3.5 hour drive rather than a 5.5 hour drive. Speaking as someone who has driven to Los Angeles on multiple occasions, it is a relatively easy drive, but it takes a lot out of you. Expecting players to drive there and back (taking Friday off, and returning to work on Monday) is ridiculous given that this tournament basically qualifies you for a Grand Prix Payout event. Anyway, I guess I’ll stop rambling. Good luck to everyone going.
I refused to make the trip to Nations when it was held up north for the same reason… Why should I lose at least one day from work, spend a minor fortune for a hotel in the bay (don’t tell me that they are the same as LA, I know that isn’t true), food, gas, entry fee and wear and tear…. As it is, LA is an hour away from me now. They need to have two seperate ones for CA, it just makes better sense. They just need to figure out how to divide the prize support and side event product for two events like that…
@Pin
So if Vegas players have to drive 5 hours to LA it’s ok, but Nor Cal players driving 5 and a half hours is too much? Going by the “states” system, Vegas has at least twice as many players as Reno and the event is only giving out two invites…
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Does anybody else here agree that I will probably win this event?
@ the guy who complains about paying $2.69 a gallon for petrol, come to England where it’s £1.20 per LITRE. That equates, give or take, to around $6.50 a gallon…food for thought, no?
AVERAGE travel for Sacramento
= 582.6 miles – 10.25 hours
AVERAGE travel for Sacramento IF VEGAS moved to RENO
= 500 miles – 8.85 hours
AVERAGE travel for Las Vegas
= 0 miles – 0 hours
AVERAGE travel for Las Vegas IF VEGAS moved to RENO
= 426.2 miles – 7.4 hours
AVERAGE travel for Los Angeles
= 0 miles – 0 hours
AVERAGE travel for Los Angeles IF LA moved to SAC
= 513.4 miles – 8.35 hours
AVERAGE travel for Los Angeles IF VEGAS is moved to RENO
= 539.2 miles – 8.75 hours
Sacramento, CA > Los Angeles, CA (387 miles 6.5 hours)
Sacramento, CA > Las Vegas, NV (545 miles 9.5 hours)
Sacramento, CA > Salt Lake, UT (692 miles 12 hours)
Sacramento, CA > Boise, ID (656 miles 11.5 hours)
Sacramento, CA > Portland, OR (633 miles 11.75 hours)
Sacramento, CA > Reno, NV (132 miles 2.5 hours)
Las Vegas, NV > Los Angeles, CA (322 miles 6 hours)
Las Vegas, NV > Reno, NV (473 miles 8.75 hours)
Las Vegas, NV > Phoenix, AZ (340 miles 6.25 hours)
Las Vegas, NV > Alburquerque, NM (572 miles 9.25 hours)
Las Vegas, NV > Salt Lake, UT (424 miles 6.75 hours)
Los Angeles, CA > Sacramento, CA (387 miles 6.5 hours)
Los Angeles, CA > Las Vegas, NV (322 miles 6 hours)
Los Angeles, CA > Phoenix, AZ (373 miles 6 hours)
Los Angeles, CA > Albuquerque, NM (792 miles 12.25 hours)
Los Angeles, CA > Salt Lake, UT (693 miles 11 hours)
Los Angeles, CA > Reno, NV (516 miles 8.5 hours)
(This data uses nearest 5 National Qualifiers)
I guess I had to pull out the data because I’m tired of Vegas people bitching. But statistically speaking the Las Vegas tournament SHOULD have been held in Reno because Las Vegas people have the lowest average travel time. Yes I know, Sacramento people then only have to travel a few hours; but as it stands, Las Vegas people travel 0 hours so you have no right to say you’re entitled to it because in the current state Northern California players have the longest average drive in the entire U.S. for nearest 5 locations. Go look at the map and do the math. It’s absurd.
OH here’s some other useful tidbits. The area of the East Coast that takes up about the same land mass as California:
(Population)
Georgia – 9.8 million
South Carolina – 4.5 million
North Carolina – 9.3 million
Virginia – 7.9 million
Maryland – 5.7 million
Delaware – .9 million
Total = 38.1 (5 National Qualifiers)
California – 36.9 million (1 National Qualifier)
According to Scott Larabee (interview on Starkington Post), any player can attend any National Qualifier. So, the people in Northern California, can just drive to Vegas or to Washington/Oregon and participate in those as well.
Also, according to Scott Larabee, the # of Slots were decided upon by “Magic Playing Population per Capita” and not State Population per Capita.
Vegas has the largest population of Magic players in Nevada. Just like LA has the largest population of Magic players in California. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
let’s face it socal is a joke.there is no need to have everyome drive all the way down there when itshould be a simple solution to just have one up here. And down there
let's face it norcal is a joke.there is no need to have everyome drive all the way down there when itshould be a simple solution to just have one up here. And down there
You guys are all forgetting how hard Reno players are getting shafted. We used to have the option of driving 4 hours to San Jose. We now have the options of driving to Vegas, which is 8 hours, or to LA, which is 9 hours.
@Christopher E Otwell
Apparently, you have not looked at a map recently. Players in the Sacramento area or Bay area cannot “just drive to Vegas or Washington/Oregon” for their Regionals. It’s 360 miles to LAX from the South Bay, where it is 530mi to Vegas or 665mi to Portland…. It’s only 245 to Reno, which would have been unfortunate, but ultimately I would have done it to play in a tournament that I want to play in. You don’t know what you are talking about, and you obviously come from an East Coast/Midwest mindset when you start talking about how I just need to drive to another state.
And to anyone who has driven to LA on the weekend knows, it is no easy drive. Yss, you can go 95mph on I-5 and make great time, but it takes forever to get out of the Valley on 152 and driving down the 405 is ridiculous.
@Bobby Duckett
Bay Area, Sacramento Area, and the Reno area all got shafted. Not to mention anyone living north of the Bay Area or Sac. For Reno residents, you are probably better off going East on 80 to Salt Lake City than sweating your way down the 95 to Vegas (although Vegas>>>Salt Lake for post-tournament activities).
WotC should have made an exception for the case of Northern California/Northern Nevada and had another National Qualifier in Sacramento or the Bay Area. That is the only reasonable solution to the issue. I am disappointed that they have not made any announcement to change what they are doing, but I guess that whomever makes such decisions is obstinate enough to not want to admit they made a mistake. Shame on them.